Booking pitches

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  • brue
    brue Forum Participant Posts: 21,176 ✭✭✭✭✭
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    edited October 2019 #92

    On our recent trip, we stayed on six sites, on the five non CAMC sites, we were able to book a hardstanding pitch, on one, at Blair Castle we could choose the exact pitch in advance. The club site we used happened to have small hardstandings for all so no problem. But I much prefer being able to book the type of pitch needed in advance. 

  • EasyT
    EasyT Forum Participant Posts: 16,194
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    edited October 2019 #93

    Understandable Brue, it is simply my selfish point of view that I have always been able to get a hardstand and therefore it does not present me with a problem. If hardstands were bookable then I would not expect to be asked to take grass so that a motorhome could have a hardstanding wink

  • brue
    brue Forum Participant Posts: 21,176 ✭✭✭✭✭
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    edited October 2019 #94

    That must be very specific to Sandringham? C&CC sites have a 12pm departure. Why should this cause problems for those arriving at 1pm except for someone going out for the day if it's an exceptionally narrow approach. I've never seen a "nightmare" on arrivals at C&CC sites, it usually works well and after the first influx people arrive at various times and they know they will have the pitch type they booked. Makes the whole thing a lot calmer. smile

  • brue
    brue Forum Participant Posts: 21,176 ✭✭✭✭✭
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    edited October 2019 #95

    As a motorhomer we've never been offered anything that we didn't get offered as caravanners! wink

  • EasyT
    EasyT Forum Participant Posts: 16,194
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    edited October 2019 #96

    I've never seen a "nightmare" on arrivals at C&CC sites

    Can't say I relished waiting with the car for 20 mins in hot sun on one arrival last year though!

  • Tinwheeler
    Tinwheeler Forum Participant Posts: 23,147 ✭✭✭
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    edited October 2019 #97

    I’ve seen horrendous 'nightmare' queues at C&CC sites since they changed to 1300 arrival, Brue. It’s as if former 1200 arrival people, plus 1300 arrivers all turn up together and increase the bow wave of arrivals considerably. We now aim to turn up even later and miss the queues. After all, we know we have a guaranteed pitch type waiting for us.

  • JVB66
    JVB66 Forum Participant Posts: 22,892
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    edited October 2019 #98

    We have noted it at the very Busy site at Sandringham on several occasions when staying just through the woods ,and the "nightmare " was one of the managers words, i spoke to when walking Rosa and his words were "it was the same at the site we were on last year at peak times but worse here with the narrow road" and one occasion there was a motor caravan trying to exit and had been, she said ,nearly 30mins trying to get out surprised

  • brue
    brue Forum Participant Posts: 21,176 ✭✭✭✭✭
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    edited October 2019 #99

    I believe you JVB...but a queue for a holiday isn't too much of a nightmare is it? wink

    Like TW, with a pitch booked we don't find the need to be first in the queue, life is easier. smilesmile

  • Rufs
    Rufs Club Member Posts: 4,073 ✭✭✭✭✭
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    edited October 2019 #100

    i guess you have never used the Brittany ferries Portsmouth - Santander route, IOW ferry can be equally as tortuous at peak times, and i believe at the club site in Brighton they queue for hours to get in during the Christmas/New year period undecided

  • EasyT
    EasyT Forum Participant Posts: 16,194
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    edited October 2019 #101

    Don't think I've used a channel ferry for 20 years. 

  • Tinwheeler
    Tinwheeler Forum Participant Posts: 23,147 ✭✭✭
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    edited October 2019 #102

    You can expect a long wait for almost any ferry, Ruffs, whether cross channel or inter UK as they want you to check in well ahead of sailing time but C&CC don't work that way. 😀

  • SteveL
    SteveL Club Member Posts: 12,310 ✭✭✭
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    edited October 2019 #103

    At least with a campsite, if you are at the front of the queue, they don't pull you over and make you wait till everyone else has pitched because you have a sat dome on top of your caravan.😂

  • JVB66
    JVB66 Forum Participant Posts: 22,892
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    edited October 2019 #104

    The problem is it seems as with cc sites a booked pitch type is not a ""best pitch" type so an "earliest possible" arrival may? give more choicewink

  • Unknown
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    edited October 2019 #105
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  • longtermpuller
    longtermpuller Forum Participant Posts: 17
    edited October 2019 #106

    Black knowl at brockenhurst is a prime example of what's wrong with the club

    there are a lot of grass pitches, and every morning the units on hardstanding leave the site, and units on grass rush to switch from grass to hardstanding, so at 1 the new arrival turn up , with only grass pitches available, and the circus goes on every day.

    all other commercial sites allow you to book grass or hardstanding, so if you want a hardstanding it's clear what you need to do.

    why should you have to book a very expensive fully serviced pitch to get a hardstand

  • Cornersteady
    Cornersteady Club Member Posts: 14,431 ✭✭✭
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    edited October 2019 #107

    Yes I've also noticed this grass to HS morning mitigation too , it happened at Seacroft during the summer, and I think it really gives an idea of the reality on club sites for people wanting HS rather than grass. 

    It also answers why the club doesn't allow HS booking yet, as I said, would people book up if the HS have already been take?

    Yes if you want a HS go where you are allowed to book them, no argument, or of course use club sites that are all HS, these are fast becoming the norm, thankfully. 

    To your last question, one shouldn't, but somehow being on a club site appears to override the extra cost for many? 

  • trellis
    trellis Forum Participant Posts: 1,102
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    edited October 2019 #108

    I noticed that happening last year , bu###r that , once I'm pitched that's me for the duration of stay .😀

  • brue
    brue Forum Participant Posts: 21,176 ✭✭✭✭✭
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    edited October 2019 #109

    Corners. To respond to your second point the problem with CAMC is that possible muddy and warn grass pitches come in at the same price as well cared for hardstandings. Maybe there are some who might risk a cheaper pitch and some who'd pay premiums for guaranteed hard standings? Unfortunately, at present people aren't being offered the same quality for the same price, it is just a pitch, take it or leave at the same cost. We recently booked a non ehu grass pitch with the C&CC, it was a lot cheaper and luckily for us wasn't weather or seasonally damaged by awnings etc. but we risked it because the other pitches were booked. At least we didn't have to pay the same price as some on the manicured hardstandings (the site was immaculate.) Even if it had been equipped with EHU we'd still have paid less, so I find this a good policy and all the C&CC sites we stayed on were busy.

  • Navigateur
    Navigateur Club Member Posts: 3,880 ✭✭✭✭✭
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    edited October 2019 #110

    On the Macbrayne's ferries to the Outer Isles, being last on used to be a definitely big advantage as it meant first off.  One did have to be able to reverse down the link span though.

     

  • JVB66
    JVB66 Forum Participant Posts: 22,892
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    edited October 2019 #111

    Interesting "observation?" we have stayed on Black Knowl on two stays of 14 days this year and are trying to note what you  say happens ?as we were on a grass pitch at the top of the site ,  on only one occasion noted a small camper who was under the trees on grass move pitches,to a hard standing,and if it was as as you say we would have noticed as my OH is not very mobile we tend to stay on site ,unless i take the dog for a walk or for shopping,

  • JVB66
    JVB66 Forum Participant Posts: 22,892
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    edited October 2019 #112

    How many did you see move at Seacroft  Corners?, 

  • Cornersteady
    Cornersteady Club Member Posts: 14,431 ✭✭✭
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    edited October 2019 #113

    As you may know the HS pitches are on the outside of the grass pitches in a rectangle and we were on the 'top' new SP.

    It was almost on a daily basis (the site was full) so coming back from a swim and shower about after ten thirty you would notice a single item of caravaning (chair, table, aqua  roll...) or sometimes even a child with bike on a newly vacated pitch. You would look onto the grass rectangle and some people would be quickly doing a quick pack-up-to-tow routine, not enough to tow but enough to move the caravan - disconnect the EHU but not wind it up sort of thing, then send other child or husband with another item over like the wastemaster. 

  • DavidKlyne
    DavidKlyne Club Member Posts: 13,867 ✭✭✭
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    edited October 2019 #114

    I suspect Seacroft is a good example of the sort of site where people wanting a hardstanding would book a serviced pitch as it would be far from certain that you would arrive and be able to get a hardstanding pitch as there are only 32 of them compared to 37 grass pitches. We are going at the end of the month and have booked a serviced pitch in order to guarantee a hardstanding. It is possible the grass pitches will be out of commission by then but I have no way of knowing that.

    Personally I would have no objection to there being a small price separation between hardstandings and grass pitches similar to what the C&CC do, almost surprised the Club have not thought about that for themselveswink

    David

  • EasyT
    EasyT Forum Participant Posts: 16,194
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    edited October 2019 #115

    We arrived at Seacroft on 7th July 2016 (a Thursday) and would have been about 15 mins after earliest arrival which I think was 12pm. We took the last hardstanding

  • EmilysDad
    EmilysDad Forum Participant Posts: 8,973
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    edited October 2019 #116

     how do you remember 3 plus years ago? I struggle to remember last week

  • JVB66
    JVB66 Forum Participant Posts: 22,892
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    edited October 2019 #117

    Seacroft is one of our regular haunts and as with Black Knowl it is not a scenario we seem to notice,wink 

    ps there again on the 13th of this month 

  • JVB66
    JVB66 Forum Participant Posts: 22,892
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    edited October 2019 #118

    Its 1300 arr now at Seacroft

  • EasyT
    EasyT Forum Participant Posts: 16,194
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    edited October 2019 #119

    I can't remember what happened last week either! Because I sit down for several evenings and plan our tour route with OH and select sites I set up a spreadsheet. Hell I wouldn't remember where I had booked otherwise. I just looked it up wink

  • EasyT
    EasyT Forum Participant Posts: 16,194
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    edited October 2019 #120

    Its 1300 arr now at Seacroft

    Think it changed last year? 

  • SteveL
    SteveL Club Member Posts: 12,310 ✭✭✭
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    edited October 2019 #121

    We had, but I think they were getting creative as the Bretagne was very full. Fortunately on that crossing we had managed to get a commodore class cabin, which guarantees you a restaurant place, so the fact we were last on didn't matter.😀